SSTI Digest

The federal government spending on non-defense AI R&D has increased from $560 million in fiscal year 2018 to $2.1 billion in 2023, according to the bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence report released in the closing month of the 118th session. The report encourages Congress to continue federal R&D efforts, with specific recommendations for Congress to support fundamental R&D for continued global leadership in AI innovation, increase technology transfer from university R&D to market, and promote public-private partnerships for AI R&D. The report also encourages Congress to align national AI strategy with broader U.S. technology strategy, explore how to accelerate scientific discovery across disciplines with AI, and support AI R&D for small businesses.

In last November’s general election, Massachusetts voters approved Question 3: the Unionization and Collective Bargaining for Transportation Network Drivers Initiative, allowing the state’s more than 80,000 Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize and collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions. (The measure only covers ride-hailing service drivers not those delivering goods for companies such as DoorDash.) Aiming to address such issues as sub-minimum wages and other driver concerns, it is a groundbreaking result that could spur similar unionization efforts in other states. It is the latest development in ongoing battles over the role of gig workers in the U.S.

Enterprise Minnesota, the official Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center for the state, recently released its annual State of Manufacturing survey. The yearly report found unprecedented anxiety among respondents, noting that the sectors’ mood is one of worry paired with concerns about the economy and business prospects; it also revealed that the state’s manufacturing executives believe Minnesota’s business climate is worse than any time in the 16-year history of the survey. The report is a stark difference to sentiments in neighboring Wisconsin.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and key architect of the CHIPS and Science Law, secured up to $500 million in federal investments to preserve and expand the Regional Tech Hubs (Tech Hubs) program. Sen. Cantwell secured the funding as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is set to pass before the end of the year. SSTI helped lead a coalition that advocated for the provision and additional funding for Tech Hubs.

As explained in a press release from Senator Cantwell, while Congress authorized $12.9 billion for the Tech Hubs over five years under the law, only 10% of authorized funding for the first two years has been appropriated.

FYI This Week, a science policy newsletter from the American Institute of Physics, reported in their November 25 article Commerce aims to commit CHIPS money before Trump returns that “Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said … she is trying to allocate all the semiconductor manufacturing and research funds appropriated by the CHIPS and Science Act before President Joe Biden leaves office." Since Raimondo made that statement, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) has announced the following CHIPS and Science Act Awards:

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) recently awarded  $14.5 million in Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) grants for five projects. ARISE is ARC’s multi-state initiative that aims to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through collaborative projects.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced at the Native CDFI Network’s Annual Policy and Capacity Building Summit $8.6 million in additional support for tribal nations through the State Small Business and Credit Initiative (SSBCI) 2.0 program, published in a readout.

Personal income[1] has increased from $1.25 trillion in 1974 to $23.38 trillion in 2023 nationwide, a nearly nineteen-fold increase over the past 50 years. Meanwhile, per capita personal income (PCPI), a metric of personal income standardized by population, has only seen a twelvefold increase from $5,836 to $69,810 over the same period. SSTI reveals these numbers from its analysis of new U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data.

SSTI also found that, since 1974, both the average and median annual percentage change in personal income are 6%, with just one drop (-3%) in the last half-century at the onset of the Great Recession from 2008 to 2009. PCPI follows a similar trend at a 5% average and median percentage change with just one drop (-4%) during the same years.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to register for SSTI’s Annual Conference. The registration deadline is December 3—that’s less than two weeks away! Register now to ensure your spot as practitioners and policymakers from around the country come together to learn from each other the best way to advance their innovation economy. The agenda contains four plenary sessions with national thought leaders and more than 20 breakout sessions to help plan for 2025 and beyond. Sessions include:

Plenary sessions

2025 & Beyond: What we know so far - leadership & funding
2025 & Beyond: Technology, TBED and Competitiveness
2025 & Beyond: Strategies for long-term growth

On Nov. 14, the Massachusetts’ House and Senate approved a compromise $4 billion economic development measure after months of negotiations that followed the end of their formal legislative session this past summer and the spring release of Gov. Maura Healey’s $3.5 billion proposal, An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership, or the Mass Leads Act.

CHIPS for America recently announced $285 million to establish the Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins (SMART) USA Institute, which will focus on semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging. SMART USA is a consortium spanning more than 30 states and comprising more than 150 expected partners in industry, academia, national labs, and the full spectrum of supply chain design and manufacturing, according to a press release from Purdue University. The consortium is led by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), located in Durham, North Carolina.

SSTI extends a huge “thank you” to all of the organizations partnering with us to make SSTI’s 2024 Annual Conference a success! Please take a moment now to learn more about our partners here and then be sure to visit them in person this December.